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New d6 system for creating one-page RPGs

A topic by Hugh Lashbrooke created Jul 24, 2024 Views: 309 Replies: 8
Viewing posts 1 to 4
Submitted (3 edits) (+1)

Hey folks,

I thought I’d share this here since it may be interesting to participants of this jam.

I recently created and published a new TTRPG system called Roll Up! It is designed for creating games that are easy to start, yet remain endlessly replayable. The core system comes with all the tools you need to create a new game, including extensive tables for generating settings, themes, characters, quests, and more.

The system uses a d6 and no other dice, so it’s easy to pick up even for folks who have never played RPGs before. The rules come in an A6 booklet, and the core mechanics can easily be included on a single page for creating one-page RPGs.

You can find the system here: https://hlashbrooke.itch.io/roll-up-ttrpg-system

I have also published a game (a one-page RPG, of course) using the system that is available here: Rolling Raceway - it is a tabletop racing sim that works for any number of players. It shows off some of the versatility of the Roll Up! system.

The system is openly licensed (CC-BY) and free to download, so you are welcome to use it to create new games, especially for this jam!

Submitted

I’ve opened up a jam for the Roll Up! system that overlaps with the One-Page RPG Jam, so you can use the system and submit to both jams at the same time.

Jam details here: https://itch.io/jam/roll-up-jam

Submitted(+1)

Hi Hugh, nice and compact system you have there, good job!

Just adding my 2c in order to give positive criticism: the only thing I found in disagreement with is the test difficulty.

Rolling a random difficulty doesn't seem right: I'd rather prefer a "normal difficulty" reference number so I can decide for each test the reference score according to the situation.

If the difficulty is rolled randomly  everything would feel too random, I feel.

Other than that, I really dig the system!

Submitted

Thanks for checking it out!

That’s great feedback and a very good point. My first iteration of Roll Up! had a table for determining difficulty with five levels - Basic, Easy, Medium, Difficult, and (Nearly) Impossible. So that’s exactly what you’re saying it should have. I changed it to make it more flexible, but I tend to agree that it makes the difficulty a little too random.

I’ll consider changing it back, and possibly keeping an option for random difficulty in there too.

I appreciate you having a look and sharing your thoughts - let me know if you use the system to create something!

Submitted(+1)

Personally I like to balance the odds as a "flavour" for the system, so in a harsh game like Mork Borg it's thematic if "normal" difficulty means 45%  probability of passing the test (without modifiers); maybe you could expose a bit of stats calculations so that one could decide what "normal" difficulty means in the context of their game?

I will come up with something using your system and let you know, just for fun. Probably I will hack it a bit. Thanks for creating it!

Submitted

Sounds good! I’ll continue to work on it, and look forward to seeing what you do with it - hacking the system is always welcome :)

Submitted

I just published a v1.1 of the system, including (amongst other things) difficulty levels. You can still hack the system and make it work any way you like, but that should serve as a reasonable guide I think. There are more details about the update here: https://hlashbrooke.itch.io/roll-up-ttrpg-system/devlog/775251/v11-difficulty-levels-and-improved-balancing

Submitted

I've got an idea for a one-page game, I'll check it out. Thanks!

Submitted(+1)

Awesome - looking forward to seeing it!